Not long ago, you had to have a bank account but no longer.
A reason for this is that banks treat people so badly and that there are alternatives now to a bank account. This is a classic Innovators Solution to an underserved population where new alternatives are emerging. We are in the chaotic phase of what will be a revolution in banking. The banks are no longer the only game in time. Soon better alternative will appear for more and more of us.
Here is the NYT on this topic today:
"Part of the lure is the so-called underbanked population — people who use few, if any, bank services. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation estimates that roughly 10 million households in the United States do not use a bank, up from nine million three years ago. And the agency says 24 million more households have a bank account but still use nonbank financial services, like prepaid cards.
Mr. Holley said that 20 to 25 percent of Walmart customers were unbanked.
“The more kinds of services we can offer our core customer like that, the better for them,” he said.
Last month, Walmart unveiled a prepaid card with American Express. The card operates much like a debit card except that it is not attached to a bank account. It comes with free customer-service telephone support, and fees are relatively low, but the account is not backed by the F.D.I.C."
The foundations of banking are being chipped away. You can find out more about this and what you can do in my new book - You Don't Need a Banker - To get Credit
